Today's Opinions

Not because I was a “green” freshman or because I was a little fish in a bigger pond. Rather, it was terrifying for me because I was bullied.
There were a group of girls that got a rise out of picking on my twin sister, our best friend and me. It started out with spitballs being thrown at us in the gymnasium bleachers. The spitballs eventually turned into big wads of bubble gum. And, of course, name-calling was a common occurrence.

When I attend public meetings, I’m there as eyes and ears for the members of the public who do not attend. I’m not there to offer comments, or have reactions or show emotion to what takes place. That’s why I hope my jaw didn’t drop, as it felt like it did, when the Washington County School Board members did not second a motion for a proposed tax increase Friday evening.

Ghost stories are a childhood tradition that never fades around a hot summer night. Just the phrase “ghost stories” causes the neck hairs to rise up. This is especially so if you’ve ever met a master storyteller. I did once when I was about 4 years old. His name was Damian Warren of Springfield.
I’m 53 now, so four for me is almost half a century ago. It was a different time, and entertainment was hard to come by. You could read or go outside and play. My choices were narrowed down due to being illiterate.

“Lord, I want to thank you for my smokin’ hot wife…”
No, I didn’t say it! (My wife warned me if I prayed that publicly it might be my last prayer.) Those are the words of the Rev. Joe Nelms, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lebanon, Tenn., praying at NASCAR’s Federated 300 Nationwide Series race in Nashville, on Saturday of last week. Pastor Nelms became an instant star on the Internet with comments about his prayer ranging from “the greatest prayer ever,” to “blasphemous.”
It is neither.

“All that had been used to make it a dwelling place, by my folks on back, by Grover and me… all the memories of all the lives that had made it and held it together, all would come apart and be gone as if it never was.”from Sold, a short story by Wendell Berry

The purpose is to get people to quit. Simple as that.
The Federal Drug Administration recently announced that beginning September 2012, it will require larger, more prominent health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements in the United States.
The changes will be the first in more than 25 years and are “a significant advancement in communicating the dangers of smoking,” according to the FDA.